Good morning! It’s Thursday, Sept. 11. This is Rob.
News conference: Fresno city leaders plan to come together at noon today at City Hall in a joint bipartisan news conference condemning political violence in the wake of the horrific public killing of MAGA political influencer Charlie Kirk.
Honoring 9/11: The Business Journal has published a list of regional ceremonies and observances taking place today on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The Business Journal
Pretty cool: Highs in the low 80s today, with temperatures expected to reach 90 this week.
Open up: Southeast Fresno’s long-awaited Fancher Creek shopping center appears poised to open with hiring already underway for at least three stores. The Fresno Bee
1. Madera needs birthing services
Madera County is now the only county in the central San Joaquin Valley — and one of just nine California counties statewide — where expecting mothers have no access to labor-and-delivery services at a local hospital, the Intersection reports.
Earlier this year, the Public Policy Institute of California reported that Madera County is the only San Joaquin Valley county in which the average travel time for maternity care is more than 30 minutes.
Since the end of 2020, more than 100 rural hospitals nationwide have announced that they will end labor and delivery services, the Intersection reports.
Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno: “We need to bring maternity/labor and delivery services back to Madera. Asking mothers in labor to drive to another county to deliver their child is not something any family should have to do.”
2.Garnet Fire continues to burn
The Garnet Fire has burned nearly 57,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon. It went over Dinkey Creek and into McKinley Grove in the Sierra National Forest, threatening hundreds of giant sequoias, The Fresno Bee reported.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a Dense Smoke Advisory “for a portion of the Sierra Nevada and surrounding foothills from Madera County to northern Tulare County.”
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Quality Advisory last week, warning residents to stay indoors to minimize the risk of exposure to particulate matter from the fires. The risk had reduced to moderate by Tuesday, but effects can still be felt into Yosemite Valley.
3. Fresno group opposes redistricting
A Fresno coalition is coming together to try and thwart Democratic Party plans to gerrymander California in response to Republican gerrymandering in Texas, ABC30 reports.
Prop 50 would override the state’s independent commission on redistricting that voters approved in 2010. Voters will begin receiving ballots for the special election early next month.
The move is expected to further weaken the Republican Party’s already slim presence in California.
Fresno County District 5 Supervisor Nathan Magsig: “Our entire Central Valley is being affected by this. Proposition 50 continues to cut up the state of California, making it very difficult, not only for voters, but just for us to have appropriate representation.”
Today’s newsletter was edited by Danielle Bergstrom.
